Ike Turner Interview
Fool In Love- London 1960
It’s Gonna Work Out Fine – London 1961
I Can’t Believe What You Say – Sue 1964
OOH – POO – PAH – DOO – Sue
Finger Poppin – (Loma USA 1964)
My Baby Now 1964
SOMEBODY (NEEDS YOU) (Loma 1965 USA, Warner Bros UK)
Poor Fool – Sue 1965
FingerPoppin – Warner Bros 1965
BEAUTY IS JUST SKIN DEEP – HMV 1965
Please Please Please – Sue 1967
River Deep Mountain High – London 1966
A Love Like Yours – London
Anything You Wasn’t Born With – HMV 1966
Tell Her I’m Not Home – Warner Bros 1967
Ike Turner has been branded wife beater and bully. What cannot be denied, however, is his major and often hidden influence on the world of Rock and Roll, early R n’ B and soul. He was 19 when he wrote Rocket 88, widely recognised now as the song that kicked off the whole Rock shooting match.
His group at this time was The Kings of Rhythm, later to be joined by a guitarist familiar to most – Jimi Hendrix.
His achievements included:
Discovering and recording Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Little Milton
Turning the raw talent of Annie Mae Bullock into the world superstar, Tina Turner
Coaching Janis Joplin
Being a very talented boogie woogie pianist in the fifties
Influencing the dance style of a young Elvis Presley
Superb band leader
Ike Turner’s life story has all the morbid fascination of a car crash, made sadder when the the driver limps away with scars that he never loses. His father was reputedly beaten to death by an angry white mob in segregated Clarksville in the thirties – his reputation for a fiery temper is hardly surprising.
Many of his tracks were played at the Twisted Wheel and Blue Note including a few of the more obscure ones as well as ‘B’ sides. Ike and Tina Turner appeared at The Twisted Wheel twice before Tina’s rebirth as a superstar.
Ike Turner – Wikipedia
Born 5th November 1931 – Clarksdale, Mississippi
Died 12th December 2007 – San Diego, California